MAGS December “Diverse Perspectives” (RESULT)

Started by Stupot, Sat 30/11/2024 23:44:31

Previous topic - Next topic

What is your favourite game of MAGS December?

A Place of Significance (by Wham)
5 (71.4%)
Mystery Mansion Mayhem (by VampireWombat)
0 (0%)
Mazzled (by Pell)
2 (28.6%)

Total Members Voted: 7

Voting closed: Sat 25/01/2025 22:42:09

Stupot

Topic: Diverse Perspectives
Set by: Babar and jfrisby



Now voting. Please vote using the poll above.


A Place of Significance by WHAM


Mystery Mansion Mayhem by VampireWombat


Mazzled! by Pell






Your game must centre on multiple different perspectives. This could be anything from multiple people experiencing the same thing differently, the same person having different experiences leading to different ways of seeing things, the same place being perceived differently and so on.




What is MAGS?
Started in 2001, MAGS is a competition for all AGS users. The idea is to create a game in under a month, following the guidelines set by the previous winner. It aims to help you work to a deadline, improve your skills, and provide a kick-start into making adventure games and more. Regardless of skill, MAGS is for everyone. Voting is based on "favourite" games, and not the most artistic, or the best coded. If you want to improve you art skills, use it as a chance to do some graphic work. If you're sub-standard at coding, use it as a chance to give scripting a go. Ultimately, people will vote for the most enjoyable entry.

Rules
Entering MAGS is simple. First, conceptualize your game following the month's criteria (see above). Second, create your game, fuelled only by coffee. Finally, post your game in this thread, including:

* A working download link
* The title of your game
* A suitable in-game screenshot

At the end of the month, voting will begin, and the winner chooses the next month's theme.

Remember that this is a challenge to see what you can do in a month, so any tinkering you do after that, including fixing minor glitches, is against the spirit of the competition. The exception to this is that you may go in and fix major, game-breaking bugs only during voting. We want you to have a game that voters can actually play and that runs on their machines.

So to reiterate, during the voting period fixing major, game-breaking bugs is okay, fixing minor glitches or making cosmetic changes is cheating.

Tips
Here are some ways to make sure you have a game to submit at the end of the month:
* Make a tiny game. Plan small, then cut it in half. Find shortcuts (e.g. if making walk-cycles is time-consuming, make the characters static or have it in the first person).
* Plan to have your game playable and submittable with a week to spare. This way you have a week to fix bugs, add some flourishes and maybe even get someone to test it.
* Plan to submit it a day or so early. This way, if there are any technical issues with uploading, they can be sorted out in time.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a little help with graphics? Perhaps The AGS Trove has something you can use.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Need a bit of help with music?  Check out Eric Matyas' huge stock of free music resources.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Don't want to go it alone? Try the Recruitment board.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

VampireWombat

Huh... This is kind of the idea I had for last month that I was unable to do. Though I was going to go more the Rashomon type. I'll see if I can come up with a a good enough new idea to do.

WHAM

Idea has been had, first graphics drafts have been drawn (and I discovered a fun bug in my Paint Shop Pro 2022 that causes it to crash whenever I tab out of it, so that's fun), though it might require more art than I can feasibly produce in a month, but pushing the limits is what MAGS is for!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

Ponch

Count me in. It's an interesting theme and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have some free time this month to work on a MAGS game.  :cheesy:

VampireWombat

I have an idea. I just don't know how well I can execute it. I haven't really played many mystery games. The base idea is mostly based on the multiple endings for the movie Clue.

pell

OK. This time I put off mentioning I was in until I was absolutely sure. I'm far enough into a proof of concept build that could be submitted as it is right now if push came to shove. So I'm in.


pell

Quote from: VampireWombat on Sun 01/12/2024 16:24:34Huh... This is kind of the idea I had for last month that I was unable to do. Though I was going to go more the Rashomon type. I'll see if I can come up with a a good enough new idea to do.

Rashomon was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the topic.

pell

I've completed the prototype and got all the game mechanics working. Now I'm working on the game proper, which is a little more involved and has its own challenges.

The game doesn't have much story to speak of, but it does involve going on a journey of sorts. I hope that's adventure enough for MAGS. I've always thought of this as a monthly AGS game jam, as in a game made with AGS that fits the topic, but I just noticed the original post specifically mentions "adventure game".

I've done too much work to turn back now, so I'll just keep plugging away at it.

Stupot

Quote from: pell on Sat 07/12/2024 00:48:26I just noticed the original post specifically mentions "adventure game".
Don't worry about that. That probably needs rewording. Non-adventures have always been welcomed in MAGS. Unless the specific month's guidelines calls for adventure games only (which I don't think has ever happened), you can safely submit a non-adventure.

I'll change the phrasing of the generic text for future versions.

pell

Quote from: Stupot on Sat 07/12/2024 04:27:10
Quote from: pell on Sat 07/12/2024 00:48:26I just noticed the original post specifically mentions "adventure game".
Don't worry about that. That probably needs rewording. Non-adventures have always been welcomed in MAGS. Unless the specific month's guidelines calls for adventure games only (which I don't think has ever happened), you can safely submit a non-adventure.

I'll change the phrasing of the generic text for future versions.

Thank you. I thought I was confusing MAGS with something else.

VampireWombat

Currently all I have. I did watch the episode of something which I hoped would give me more ideas how to do my game, but nothing much yet. There's a few directions the game could go from this point. Figuring out the primary character(s) will probably guide me toward a direction.


WHAM



Scene 1 of 5 is now functionally complete, though it still lacks some visual effects and sound. The other 4 scenes of which my game is planned to be made up of should be fairly quick to build upon that same template, and I have already designed the project so that I can drop up to 2 of the scenes if I'm running out of time. A lot of dev time will be over the Christmas holidays, so busy times ahead if I intend to make the deadline!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

VampireWombat

I have no idea how the mystery part of my game is going to work still. I've been more focused on character design. It's probably going to end up more proof of concept than satisfying mystery solving.

VampireWombat

At this point I've decided I'm just going to use modified backgrounds and characters from Maniac Mansion/Maniac Mansion Mania to finish off my game.


WHAM

I am BADLY behind schedule, and have two of potential five scenes functionally completed with 5 days to go, but I'll try to have at least 3 done by crunching like mad, before slapping on some royalty free music and a few key sound effects right before the end.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

WHAM

Considering the December circumstances of having Christmas holidays, post-Christmas bloat and New Years all eating into work time, is there any hope for a 1-2 day extension?
I'm pretty close to having my game sufficiently functional, after having to cut some content already, but I've got to work on the 31st and someone once told me it was advisable to sleep for more than 3 hours a night.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

pell

Right now I'm just polishing the proof-of-concept I did at the beginning of the month in order to make the original deadline. If there's an extension, I may try to get my planned level finished, but it's pretty involved compared to the prototype.

VampireWombat

I second wishing for an extension. I can technically make my game playable in the next 11 hours and whatever minutes, but I'm not sure I'd be able to make sure everything works and that dialog/descriptions is coherent.

Stupot

@WHAM @VampireWombat @pell

An extension suits me too. Shall we say +3 days, so the new deadline is end-of-play on Friday Jan 3rd.

WHAM

Much appreciated! That should give me some time to wrap up a few loose ends and to try and playtest the game a bit more. I'll probably turn the assets for the segments I won't have time to properly turn into gameplay into a small epilogue instead, so a bit less of the effort already done goes to waste.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

WHAM

My game is finally out! It's had woefully limited testing done to it, but I hope it will survive your playhtroughs without too much issue:

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2814-a-place-of-significance

I wound up having to use .wav format audio, which ballooned the game size considerably, so as to avoid issues with audio not looping correctly. Sorry about that!
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

VampireWombat

Hopefully I'll get something playable by the deadline. I made the mistake of going out and am still recovering from sensory overload.

VampireWombat

#22
The answer is no, not really. Just proof of concept. But hopefully the intended functions work.

https://vampirewombat.itch.io/mystery-mansion-mayhem



pell

Here's "Mazzled!"



https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/2816-mazzled-

It's only one of the three levels I intended,the easiest one. Find your way to the end. You'll know when you get there. The interface is pretty barebones. Use the mouse to press the "up" button to move forward and the "left/right" buttons to turn. When you're ready to quit, press Control-Q or close the window. There's no saving games.

Edit: It may be necessary to run the AGS editor from within the "Data" directory rather than trying to run an executable. I'll see if I can get the executables to work.

Edit again: I updated the download to include the missing Windows executable. Thanks to @WHAM for the heads up.

WHAM

Quote from: pell on Sat 04/01/2025 01:04:30Here's "Mazzled!"

The downloadable zip is busted and doesn't contain the actual game executable. You've probably made changes in AGS after compiling the game, so the compiled exe is gone.
Simple recompile, zip and upload should fix that up for you! :)
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

pell

Quote from: WHAM on Sat 04/01/2025 19:47:12
Quote from: pell on Sat 04/01/2025 01:04:30Here's "Mazzled!"

The downloadable zip is busted and doesn't contain the actual game executable. You've probably made changes in AGS after compiling the game, so the compiled exe is gone.
Simple recompile, zip and upload should fix that up for you! :)

Thanks. I'll see if I can figure that out. But try running the engine from inside the top-level Data directory. That works for me.

Edit: It should be working now. Thank you for pointing that out.

Ponch

Congrats to those who finished their games. Sadly, I made a lot of progress early on, but once the holidays arrived, I just couldn't find time to work on it. Still, when measured against most of my (many, many) other unfinished MAGS projects, this is probably closer to completion than most of them. Maybe I'll finish it up later this year, when "finish your mags" time rolls around again.  :cheesy:

pell

@WHAM

I just finished a playthrough of POS. Very nicely done. Kudos for fitting a fairly fleshed out story and replay value into a game jam entry.

I'll probably play through a couple of times more, but I did want to point out what was probably a bug while I'm thinking about it.
Spoiler
I made hot chocolate drinks and gave the girl a cup before spiking it with alcohol. Then when I spiked the remaining cups with the licquor, the girl got sick without drinking another cup.
[close]

pell

@VampireWombat

I took a look at MMM. The graphics look very nice. I know you got stuck in asset development and didn't finish the game. Looks like you're all set up for the next "finish your MAGS game" topic.

For whatever it's worth, here are a couple of issues I encountered:
Spoiler
When the player character is facing any view except towards us, it is in silhouette. Also, when the character climbs onto the ladder, they get stuck. Pushing and pulling the ladder works even when the character is on the ladder, but nothing allows getting off.
[close]

WHAM

Quote from: pell on Tue 07/01/2025 21:51:10..I did want to point out what was probably a bug while I'm thinking about it.
Spoiler
I made hot chocolate drinks and gave the girl a cup before spiking it with alcohol. Then when I spiked the remaining cups with the licquor, the girl got sick without drinking another cup.
[close]

Thanks! I'll put up a fix for this after the MAGS voting ends for this round. Not a major issue, but a good example of the kind of thing that slips through the cracks when rushing to finish a project.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

VampireWombat

Quote from: pell on Tue 07/01/2025 22:14:10@VampireWombat

I took a look at MMM. The graphics look very nice. I know you got stuck in asset development and didn't finish the game. Looks like you're all set up for the next "finish your MAGS game" topic.

For whatever it's worth, here are a couple of issues I encountered:
Spoiler
When the player character is facing any view except towards us, it is in silhouette. Also, when the character climbs onto the ladder, they get stuck. Pushing and pulling the ladder works even when the character is on the ladder, but nothing allows getting off.
[close]
Thanks.
Spoiler
That's not an issue so much as the only way I'd have time to make the game. The maid is the only character I got any amount of walkcycle done for. As for the ladder, I'm not surprised. I ran out of time before being able implement searching for anything in the bookshelves.
[close]

VampireWombat

I accidentally replaced the game files instead of uploading alternative downloads. Changes made: fixing ladder issues brought up by pell and adding 2 books accessible via the ladder.

heltenjon

I played the games.

Mystery Mansion Mayhem by VampireWombat
Spoiler
This looks promising. I got Cluedo vibes and think I spotted the murder weapon. I hope you finish it in an upcoming Finish Your MAGS game round.
[close]

Mazzled! by Pell
Spoiler
That's a cool prototype. The change of viewpoint to the map view is of course necessary to fit the theme of the month, while leaving it out except for the first screen would have made the game harder. (Especially if you placed traps or monsters at the wrong turns.) I hope you finish the other levels, too.
[close]

Place of Importance by WHAM!
Spoiler
I'm sure when you look at this, you see mostly the stuff you had to cut, while us players merely see all that's in it. And wow, is that a lot! The idea is very good, and the storytelling as well. It's very cool that what you do in one era can be referenced in another. I've only played through it two times, but I guess I'll need to do some more playthroughs to see every variation. The only minor drawback will be that on later playthroughs, the waiting will be noticable. Great game!
[close]

Stupot

Now voting. Please vote using the poll above.


A Place of Significance by WHAM


Mystery Mansion Mayhem by VampireWombat


Mazzled! by Pell



Sorry for the delay in getting the poll up. Please let me know if I've missed anything.

cat

Mystery Mansion Mayhem by VampireWombat
Spoiler
Looks like an interesting concept, but at the moment that's all it is - a concept.
[close]

Mazzled! by Pell
Spoiler
Fun idea! I didn't expect this at all. A bit bare-bone, but nicely done!
[close]

Place of Importance by WHAM!
Spoiler
Very intriguing idea. I was surprised at how many eras you managed to squeeze in within just one month. I like how the same place changes over time, but there is still something in common. Nice touch with the theme chosen at the beginning following through the story. There were no real puzzles but some decisions to make. I found the waiting time in the teenager sequence quite annoying, especially when playing again to get a different story.
Is there a way to get the girl? I had her throw up and go to sleep.
[close]

WHAM

Quote from: cat on Sun 12/01/2025 21:26:38Place of Importance by WHAM!
Spoiler
Is there a way to get the girl? I had her throw up and go to sleep.
[close]

Spoiler
Yes there is, but you may have to suppress your adventure game instinct a little bit. And yeah, I can see how the timers might be annoying if playing the game over several times. I designed the game as a single playthrough experience, where the first time through is each players 'true' path, since I personally don't like to re-play games after finishing them. Hubris on my part, I know, but I also just really like the idea that some things happen over time, naturally, and are not completely bound to the players actions.
[close]
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

Stupot

Well done to WHAM.

Congratulations. You can set the theme for February.

Cheers to everyone who took part.

WHAM

You can't see it, but I'm doing a little happy dance to celebrate!

I did try to stream both of the other contestants to make my usual videos of them, but couldn't make up enough material of them to warrant proper videos this time. Mazzled seems like an interesting concept, but with just the one level there wasn't much to show. I think I see the concept of Mystery Mansion Mayhem, but when I tried it out I mostly encountered non-functioning interactions and placeholders, and without direction on what to even try to do, I got a bit stumped. From what I can tell the concept is a randomly generated murder mystery game that can provide replayability and variation, which is a really interesting concept, but in its current state there just wasn't enough to show off.


Now, a brief look back on my own project:

As I always do, I set myself some challenges for this project. The first one was to push myself to draw more unique characters and walkcycles, though in the end I had to cut all non-player walkcycles for time. Another challenge was trying to see how many variations of a single relatively simple room I could pull off, using the same base image as the background and just overlaying assets on top of it, with the goal being five distinct variations. The fifth iteration ended up almost totally being cut away for time, turning into a brief cutscene rather than a properly interactable scene. Originally the final scene was intended to be a way to reflect on all the past scenes and see how they influenced one another.

Finally, I also took up learning a new graphics tool, Asperite, to replace the aging Paint Shop Pro I've been using, since PSP suffers of massive issues on modern systems and regularly crashes. While I still can't quite replicate all of my past workflows in Aseprite (especially gradients are tricky to work with, and it lacks the tool for creating feathered selections, which I use extensively to create light and shadow effects quickly), I think I'll try to adapt to it in the future and see what I can do. I think its built-in animation editor can be really powerful if properly adopted into the workflow, but in this project I didn't really use it, since I'm used to drawing my animations on a grid-style spritesheet and eyeballing things from there.

So, a lot to learn and a lot of time pressure!

All in all I'm really satisfied with the end result, especially since I had other commitments to deal with and could effectively only work on the game for just over one week of the full month.
Wrongthinker and anticitizen one. Utterly untrustworthy. Pending removal to memory hole.

VampireWombat

Quote from: WHAM on Fri 31/01/2025 09:01:22I think I see the concept of Mystery Mansion Mayhem, but when I tried it out I mostly encountered non-functioning interactions and placeholders, and without direction on what to even try to do, I got a bit stumped. From what I can tell the concept is a randomly generated murder mystery game that can provide replayability and variation, which is a really interesting concept, but in its current state there just wasn't enough to show off.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. Congrats on winning.

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk